Treasures Await With Each Visit

Monday was Movie Club and a whole group of us (10 women) went to see "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel."  Oh my gosh....I loved this movie.  It brought smiles , laughter and a few tears, very few tears, what an absolute delight.  To put it in a nutshell, it is about a group of Englishmen & women, who have reached their golden years and are looking for a little adventure and a cheap place to live on their limited incomes.  They have all, in one way or another, seen the ads for the hotel, advertising wonderful living, the only catch is....it is located in Jaipur, India.  And the adventure begins....it stars the delightful Judy Dench and Maggie Smith along with other Brits who I am sure you will recognize. The owner of the hotel is the oh so charming, Dev Patel...remember him from Slum Dog Millionaire?  This movie is a rare reminder that emotions are not only for the young and the middle aged. They are the sweetness and sometimes torment of life until the last light goes out.  Life is a continuing adventure, don't ever stop. Go see it!!  As Siskel and Ebert used to say....two thumbs up.  

And ofcourse because it was movie club, that also meant a trip to Target was in order.  Remember last month, before I realized it I had spent over $300??  Well, guess what.....I did it again.  I just have to stay out of that store, that is all there is to it.  But I did find new "stuff" for one of the bathrooms I am re-doing....towels & rugs.  Two things are going back, a much needed garbage can because the one I have now that fits nicely under the kitchen sink has a big split down the side, just waiting to implode.  But alas, (or dummy me) I did not even consider height when acquiring the new "Hefty - Odor Free" plastic can, and ofcourse it was way too tall and too wide, so the search for another can continues.  And the dog bed that I thought would be perfect for Toby turned out to be so small that he couldn't even lay down.  What was I thinking??  Too tall garbage can, too small dog bed.  I got Toby so excited about it....he hopped right in, and then proceeded to hop right out, probably thinking "what the heck does she want me to do with this tiny thing?"  But one thing that is definitely NOT going back is the Kraft chocolate cream cheese....last month I bought the milk chocolate thinking that was it for flavors, but NO....they have dark chocolate and white chocolate.  Oh I am in heaven, dark chocolate is sitting right on the first shelf in the refrigerator, front and center.  And speaking of chocolate...International Delight, the people that make all those flavored coffee creamers has now come out with a Mocha Iced Coffee Drink just in time for sittin' and sippin' on the porch.  YUM!!  So for me it is really hard to stay away from Target when treasures await with each visit.  

Our Wednesday's at Barnes & Noble have resumed, today being the first.  Marti is encouraging us to focus on the Fruits of the Holy Spirit this summer to keep us a little centered on what brought us all together beginning with JOY.  For the next two weeks Joy will be a part of this blog, finding it, feeling it, giving it.... Today I found joy visiting with my girlfriends and spending the afternoon in the garden planting, mail brought my new Membership card for the Arboretum, and new credit card for Home Goods...I like using that credit card because you earn $10 gift certificates for every $200 dollars you spend.  And who doesn't want an extra $10 to spend at Home Goods?  I pay it off each month that I have a balance and earn gift certificates.  That is a bonus in using a credit card, just never let that balance get out of hand.  The interest rates are killers...!! 

A few shots of the garden and how it is growing....

The clematis on the front arbor, gets very little sun anymore because of the growth of the trees, but it greets me with blooms each year. 

Red petunias....yum!

Perennial geranium...I think this one is called Max Frie

The clematis on the front mailbox is just loaded with blooms...

I always put some purple/pink color flower in this metal basket that hangs on the back fence...

Love this impatient....it has soft peachy pink tones...

The hanging basket outside the back porch....added Kim Klassen's texture "in love"....

And now it is time to go watch the season finale of "Revenge."  Between the finals of Dancing with the Stars and Revenge, no wonder I can't sleep nights.  (just kidding)  

"Believe in yourself and in everything you can be...not only will you be happy, but you will be able to appreciate the good qualities of the people around you."  ~  James Garner

Until next time....